Goo's Combat Overhaul
Goo's Combat Overhaul is a configurable Valheim combat-feel overhaul focused on making weapon classes more distinct, responsive, and satisfying while preserving the structure of vanilla combat.
The mod adjusts combat behavior by weapon category and attack type. It can tune hyperarmor, counter damage, stagger power, hit-stop, animation speed, attack movement, lunge/root-motion scaling, attack rotation, base damage, backstab damage, PvP behavior, stamina behavior, movement behavior, blocking, and equipment values.
Fresh installs use Goo's curated preset by default. Players can reapply Goo's preset, reset the mod back to vanilla/no-op behavior, or manually tune each weapon category.
A configuration manager is strongly recommended because most of the mod's balance values are intended to be adjusted and tested in game.
Core Features
- Weapon-specific combat tuning
- Separate Primary1 / Primary2 / Primary3 / Secondary melee attack settings
- Base damage multipliers with tooltip updates
- Backstab damage-rate tuning with tooltip updates
- Per-attack airborne damage multipliers
- Running-attack support for supported melee weapons
- Two-handed axe jump-attack support
- Lunge/root-motion tuning
- Attack movement and attack rotation control
- Balanced hyperarmor system
- Counter-damage system
- Hit-stop / hit-freeze control
- Stagger, knockback, and PvP modifier tuning
- Armor base-armor multipliers with tooltip updates
- Equipment movement modifier overrides
- Shield, timed-block, block stamina, and block-break tuning
- Negative stamina system
- Stamina regeneration curve options
- Player movement, stamina, carry weight, fall damage, and base-stat tuning
- Bow and crossbow tuning options
- Goo preset reapply button
- Vanilla reset button
- Master runtime enable/disable switch
Supported weapon categories include:
- One-handed swords
- One-handed axes
- Clubs and maces
- Knives
- Spears
- Atgeirs
- Two-handed swords
- Two-handed axes
- Sledges
- Dual axes
- Bows
- Crossbows
- Magic weapons
- Unarmed
- Other mod weapons that share a supported internal category
What's New in 1.0.3
Version 1.0.3 expands weapon identity, tooltip accuracy, airborne attacks, blocking, armor tuning, and PvP control.
Highlights:
- Weapon categories now have
BaseDamageMultiplier, which scales the weapon's damage package and updates displayed tooltip damage.
- Weapon categories now have final-value
BackstabDamageRate, which updates the displayed backstab value.
- Primary and secondary attack damage multipliers now act as runtime attack/motion-value modifiers rather than tooltip damage modifiers.
- Player melee attacks can receive per-attack airborne damage when initiated mid-air. Swimming and tools do not receive the airborne bonus.
- Two-handed axes gain a configurable jump attack: an airborne primary attack can use the finisher-blow chain animation with its own modifier set.
- Running attacks now use Valheim's running state and weapon/category rules. Two-handed axes use the second primary-chain attack for running attacks.
- PvP-only knockback force multipliers are now configurable separately from general/PvE knockback.
- Armor can be tuned by light/medium/heavy base-armor multipliers, and armor tooltips reflect the configured values.
- Shields now include configurable block power, deflection force, timed-block bonus, block stamina use, and block-break threshold.
- Block stamina consumption and block-break threshold can be configured by the active blocking weapon/shield type.
- Configs older than
1.0.3 are refreshed to Goo's current preset once, and stale entries are cleared.
Goo's 1.0.3 preset includes these notable balance values:
- Two-handed swords and two-handed axes use
1.25x base damage.
- Two-handed axe Primary1 uses
2x attack damage.
- One-handed axes, one-handed swords, and clubs/maces use
0.7x running-attack damage.
- Two-handed axe running attacks use
0.8x damage, 0x lunge, and 0.6x PvP damage.
- Combat melee attacks initiated mid-air use
1.12x airborne damage.
- PvP knockback is disabled while general/PvE knockback remains unchanged.
- Unarmed Primary1 / Primary2 / Primary3 attacks use
2x animation speed.
- Fall damage starts at
8m.
How Weapon Tuning Works
Most melee weapon settings are split into:
- Primary1 = first normal/light attack in a chain
- Primary2 = second normal/light attack in a chain
- Primary3 = third normal/light attack in a chain
- Secondary = heavy/special attack
Running attacks and special attacks are configured inside their corresponding weapon-category sections.
Weapon categories can tune:
- Base damage
- Backstab damage rate
- Attack-slot damage multipliers
- Stagger multipliers
- Stamina multipliers
- Animation speed
- Attack movement
- Lunge/root-motion scaling
- Attack rotation
- Hyperarmor mode
- Damage, stagger, and knockback taken during hyperarmor
- Counter-damage eligibility
- Hit-stop behavior
- PvP damage, stagger, and knockback scaling
- Block power and deflection force
- Block stamina consumption and block-break threshold
The goal is not to make every weapon stronger in the same way. The goal is to give different weapon classes stronger identities.
Goo's Preset
Goo's preset is the default combat-overhaul setup. It applies the intended balance values automatically on a fresh install.
In general:
- Heavy weapons receive stronger commitment tools.
- Some heavy attacks gain hyperarmor or knockback resistance.
- Some weak or clunky attacks gain animation-speed improvements.
- Some attacks gain stronger stagger identity.
- Counter damage rewards well-timed attacks against enemies during their attack animations.
- Melee attacks can turn more naturally during windup.
- Rotation can be locked after the attack trigger so attacks still require commitment.
- Hit freeze is preserved or reduced depending on weapon feel.
- Negative stamina allows committed actions to overdraw stamina, but only while current stamina is still above 0.
- Player stamina and movement systems are tuned without turning the mod into a raw-stat cheat mod.
Preset system defaults include:
- Negative stamina enabled with a
-50 stamina floor.
- Stamina recovery rate set to
1.2x.
- Stamina regen curve set to
Vanilla.
- Max carry weight base value set to
450.
- Jump stamina consumption set to
0.5x.
- Crouch stamina consumption set to
0x.
- Fall damage start height set to
8m.
- Armor movement penalties removed by default.
- Weapon, shield, pickaxe, and hammer movement penalties preserved unless configured.
You can reapply Goo's preset at any time with:
ApplyGoosSettings = true
This rewrites combat/balance config values back to Goo's preset, saves the config, and then turns itself back off.
Reset to Vanilla
The mod includes a vanilla reset option:
ResetToVanilla = true
This resets combat and balance values to vanilla/no-op behavior while keeping the mod installed.
Use this if you want to start over, compare vanilla behavior, or manually rebuild your own preset.
This reset affects combat/balance settings. It does not wipe every general/debug option.
ApplyModOptions
ApplyModOptions = true
This is the master runtime switch.
When enabled, the mod reads and applies the current config.
When disabled, the mod stops applying its combat changes and clears active runtime effects.
This does not rewrite the config. It only turns the mod's functionality on or off.
Base Damage, Attack Damage, and Tooltips
BaseDamageMultiplier changes the weapon category's displayed and runtime damage baseline. It scales the full damage package, including elemental damage and utility channels such as chop or pickaxe damage when present.
Attack-slot damage multipliers such as Primary1DamageRateMultiplier are runtime attack modifiers. They do not directly rewrite the weapon's tooltip damage.
This separation lets the tooltip represent the weapon's base damage while individual attacks can still have different motion values.
Backstab Damage
BackstabDamageRate is a final displayed value by weapon category.
For example, knives can keep a 6x backstab value while other melee categories can use lower values. The tooltip backstab line reflects the configured value.
Airborne Damage
Airborne damage is evaluated from the moment the attack is initiated.
If a player starts a supported melee attack while airborne, that attack can receive its configured airborne damage multiplier even if the player lands before the hitbox connects.
Swimming does not count as airborne for this mechanic. Tools and the Other category do not receive the airborne damage bonus by default.
Running Attacks and Two-Handed Axe Jump Attack
Supported melee weapons can have running attacks with their own modifiers.
Two-handed axes also have a configurable jump attack. When enabled, initiating a two-handed axe primary attack while airborne can use the finisher-blow chain animation with its own damage, stagger, stamina, animation, rotation, PvP, knockback, adrenaline, and lunge settings.
If both running attack and jump attack conditions would apply, the jump attack takes priority.
Balanced Hyperarmor
Balanced is the main hyperarmor mode used by Goo's preset.
Hyperarmor means an attack can resist interruption while it is being performed. Depending on the weapon settings, hyperarmor can affect:
- Incoming damage
- Incoming stagger
- Incoming knockback
Balanced hyperarmor is designed to protect the committed part of an attack without protecting the full recovery.
Attack begins
-> Balanced hyperarmor starts
Swing / hit event happens
-> Balanced hyperarmor ends
Recovery frames
-> no hyperarmor
This makes heavy attacks more reliable, but still punishable if they miss.
Counter Damage
Counter damage rewards hitting an enemy during its attack animation.
If counter damage is enabled for your weapon attack, the mod checks whether the target is currently in a real attack state. If so, your hit receives a counter-damage multiplier.
This is meant to reward timing and spacing, not random damage spam.
Hit-Stop / Hit Freeze
Valheim briefly freezes the attacker's animation when a melee hit connects. This gives attacks impact, but it can also make some weapons feel sticky or sluggish.
This mod can preserve, reduce, or remove hit freeze depending on the weapon category.
Attack Rotation and Movement
Attack rotation controls how much the character can turn during an attack.
Attack movement controls how much normal movement is retained during attack animations.
Lunge/root-motion settings control attack-driven movement separately from normal input movement. In Goo's preset, these tools are used to make attacks feel committed without making them unresponsive.
Player Stamina and Movement Systems
The mod includes configurable player-system options:
- Negative stamina
- Stamina recovery rate
- Stamina regen curve
- Jump force multiplier
- Jump stamina consumption rate
- Run speed multiplier
- Walk speed multiplier
- Crouch speed multiplier
- Run stamina consumption rate
- Crouch stamina consumption rate
- Roll stamina rate
- Roll animation speed
- Max carry weight base value
- Player base health
- Player base stamina
- Player base armor
- Fall damage start height
- Fall damage per height
- Fall damage cap
Negative stamina lets stamina-consuming actions overdraw stamina down to a configured floor. Actions are only allowed when current stamina is strictly above 0, so you can commit to an action while barely positive, but you must regenerate back above 0 before acting again.
The stamina bar displays 0 while internal stamina is negative.
The stamina regen curve can be:
Vanilla = Valheim's normal curve.Constant = constant 9 stamina per second before the recovery-rate multiplier.Reverted = vanilla-style curve with high/low stamina behavior reversed.
Armor, Shields, and Blocking
Armor can be tuned by base-armor multipliers for light, medium, and heavy armor. The armor tooltip reflects the configured value.
Shields can tune:
- Block power
- Deflection force
- Timed-block / parry bonus
- Block stamina consumption
- Block-break threshold
- Movement modifier
Weapons can also tune block power, deflection force, block stamina consumption, and block-break threshold by weapon category.
Ranged Options
Bows can tune:
- Bow draw speed
- Bow spread
Crossbows can tune:
Configuration
Almost every feature is configurable.
You can:
- Use Goo's default preset.
- Reapply Goo's preset after editing.
- Reset everything to vanilla/no-op behavior.
- Disable the mod's runtime effects without changing your config.
- Tune individual weapon categories manually.
- Adjust attack-chain slots separately.
- Disable individual systems you do not want.
Main controls:
ApplyModOptions = true
ApplyGoosSettings = false
ResetToVanilla = false
Multiplayer
For consistent behavior, all players in a multiplayer session should use the same mod version and preferably the same config.
This is especially important for:
- Damage
- Stagger
- Hyperarmor
- Counter damage
- Animation timing
- Attack rotation
- PvP behavior
- Player stamina behavior
- Player movement behavior
Recommended multiplayer setup:
All clients install the same version.
Host/server and players use the same config.
Installation
Install with a mod manager such as r2modman or Thunderstore Mod Manager.
Manual install:
-
Install BepInExPack Valheim.
-
Place GooCombatOverhaul.dll into:
BepInEx/plugins/GooCombatOverhaul/
-
Launch the game once to generate the config.
-
Edit the config if desired.
A configuration manager is strongly recommended because this mod has many balance options and one-shot preset/reset buttons.
Notes
This mod is highly configurable. If you dislike a specific balance choice, you can usually change it directly in the config.
Fresh installs use Goo's combat-overhaul preset by default. If you want vanilla behavior while keeping the mod installed, use:
ResetToVanilla = true
If you later want to return to the intended preset, use:
ApplyGoosSettings = true
Bugs can still exist. Feedback and testing notes are welcome.
